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LeBron James to join the Philadelphia 76ers

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena on November 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. . (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP made the announcement on social media on Friday.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” wrote James in a social media post announcing his decision on Friday.

James, a basketball icon and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who cited Rich Paul, James’ agent.

The decision to head to Philadelphia concludes a summer of anticipation as much of the sports world waited for the former Los Angeles Laker to announce his next destination.

Possible rumored destinations for James included his home state Cleveland Cavaliers, Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors and another former team, the Miami Heat.

“The last few weeks have really been special. I’ve never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I’ve had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out. This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?” James wrote in his post.

He signed off, “Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!”

James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers puts him on a roster with all-stars Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.

James recently completed his 23rd season in the NBA, and his eighth with the Lakers, after which it was announced in June he would be departing Los Angeles for a new team.

The announcement came moments before the NBA’s free agency period, where high-profile player movement is traditionally frequent.

With the announcement, James also leaves his son Bronny James in a Laker uniform. The younger James, who was drafted by the team in 2024, is still on the roster, but could be waived should the Lakers choose to part ways with him.

James will now build on his legacy with a 24th NBA season, this time in Philadelphia.
 

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Dolly Parton’s 9-to-5 was uniting the country

By CNN
(CNN) — At a time when no American celebrity seems immune from the country’s many divisions, Dolly Parton was a crossover icon who stayed neutral in the culture wars while still speaking her mind.Her style was adopted by the LGBTQ community and is celebrated in drag shows.She starred in a feminist comedy and became an icon for feminists, but didn’t use that word to describe herself. She preferred “woman in business.”She laughed about her plastic surgery and said the joke was on the public.She talked about her deep faith and lent her name to a wholesome family-friendly theme park in her home state of Tennessee.She did all of this without seeming to offend anyone. Country music fans, pop music fans, Republicans, Democrats, presidents, faith leaders and drag queens all genuinely mourned her passing Tuesday.President Donald Trump announced after her death that flags will be lowered to half-staff to mourn her passing, an honor he has denied to perceived enemies.“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump said in a statement posted on social media.Former President Barack Obama seemed shocked when he was asked by then-“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert in 2020 why he hadn’t given Parton a presidential medal of freedom.“I’m shocked,” Obama said. “That was a screw-up.” He assumed she’d already been honored with the nation’s highest civilian honor.Parton worked hard to appeal to everyone.When it was erroneously reported she had endorsed Hillary Clinton against Trump in 2016, she issued a clarifying post on social media, saying that while she supported having a woman in the White House, it was not a nod to Clinton.“I try not to get political but if I am, I might as well just run myself ‘cause I’ve got the hair for it, it’s huge, and they could always use more boobs in the race,” she wrote, adding. “But seriously, I have not decided who I’m voting for, but no matter what we’re gonna be suffering from PMS, Presidential Mood Swings.”That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t take any positions. When access to bathrooms for transgender people was in the news in 2016, she suggested to CNN that people should be able to use the restroom where they felt comfortable.“I try not to get too caught up in the controversy of things,” she said, adding, “I hope everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are.”But then she added the kind of plain-spoken Dollyism that pierced through the debate.“I just know if I have to pee, I’m going to pee. I don’t care where it’s going to be.”Her popularity was exceptional. When the University of Massachusetts and YouGov surveyed 1,000 people in April about their views of a random assortment of people with global fame, Parton had, by far, the strongest net favorability of +65%, a figure that included strong majorities of both liberals and conservatives.The next most popular person on the list was Obama, with +14%. Trump was in negative territory, along with former President Joe Biden.“I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats,” Parton told USA Today in 2020. “I don’t want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself.”That kind of professional political agnosticism, perhaps partly a function of her home base in the heartland and her start as a country artist, might seem like a cop-out in today’s political climate. But it’s also true that much of the country, like Parton, doesn’t talk about politics every day.She brought an earnest smile and an infectious giggle into any conversation. Her music was more focused on the sad songs, love ballads and duets that sold in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Today it’s breakup albums that get plays and attention.“Jolene,” sung from the perspective of an unnamed narrator whose man would leave her for the more beautiful Jolene if he could, comes across as a plea and a lament. If a similar theme were addressed today by another country/pop crossover artist, it might come off more like a beef track.Parton came from a time when division wasn’t necessary to build an audience. And she built the widest audience possible.“Dolly was raised in her grandfather’s church. She knew the Bible. And one of her favorite verses was judge not, lest you be judged,” her biographer Martha Ackmann told NPR in 2025.Parton lived by that principle, Ackmann said. The big hair and makeup might have created a persona upon which others placed their own expectations. But beneath it all, Ackmann said, Parton was best described by the word “decency” — “that hardcore decency that respects other people and treats others with compassion and openness.”This story has been updated with additional details.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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